Regina Farmers’ Market vendors dealing with dry summer

The heat has been sticking around in Saskatchewan, meaning producers are finding other ways to keep their plants hydrated.

July has been extremely dry in and around Regina, with virtually no rain throughout the month of July.

At the Regina Farmer’s Market, producers are finding other ways to water their plants.

“We got to irrigate a lot and things progress a lot quicker, patches come a lot quicker and vegetables just move a lot faster so you just got to be on your toes,” said Dan Erlandson, owner of Spring Creek Garden, located north of Outlook.

Erlandson said the weather hasn’t affected his vegetables this year.

“If you can control the water, you can control your quality a lot better than if you’re getting a ton of rain that you can’t control.”

He added irrigation comes with an additional cost.

Erlandson said another good thing was that the market hasn’t been rained out this summer.

Don Mitchell grows vegetables as a hobby and comes to the farmer’s market to sell them. He said he’s noticed an increase in his water bill this summer.

“You’re always watering something but probably double what it would be normal.”

For some, there’s no replacement for a nice rainfall.

“When you get a rain, you go out the next day you can see a difference the next day, just like its fertilized,” said Willie Entz with Waldeck Farming Company.

Saskatchewan is in the middle of one of the driest November to July stretches ever.